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(what is) Film
(what is) Film (originally Blacklisters) is an American animated TV series created by Elliot Strange and Owen Emerson. The show has gained a cult following. Production The show was based on an independent alternative comic-strip Strange produced for a college newspaper between 1983 up until 1997 called Blacklisters. Along with the strips, he later produced three full comics and later a paperback compilation that compiled the three comics and the strips. Frank Novice and Lily Laney adapted the strip into a pilot for a live-action series that would be pitched to NBC after the end of Novice's previous program The Late Night Sessions. Strange threatened to take them to court because they never notified him of the creation of the pilot and that if it was picked up he wouldn't be able to keep the rights to the source work. This sparked a feud between Laney, Novice and Strange which culminated with him creating his own pilot with his friend Owen Emerson in 1997. The pilot kept the name of the original comic series, but Strange decided to re-title it in case he ever wanted to revive the original strip and so he wouldn't lose the rights to it. The show's ultimate title was made up randomly, according to Strange. The show was produced by The Corning/Emerson Group, in-cooperation with Brad Grey Television. Troy Miller co-produced the show as well to fulfill his end of a deal he made with Elliot Strange. The show featured a combination of traditional animation for character movement and static environments and 3D animation for action scenes and establishing shots done with Lightwave 3D. Film Roman produced the animation for the series, which is then outsourced to Saerom Animation in South Korea. Strange originally contracted Adelaide Productions to produce the animation but they couldn't be reached in time. The show was originally pitched to PAX, but the network ultimately passed on airing it. They intended to pitch the show to FOX, UPN and The WB but passed because of the standards of those networks. USA Network ultimately picked up the series, having previously aired Duckman. In Canada, the show aired on MTV2 and had a brief tenure on Teletoon's "Teletoon Unleashed" block. In Australia, the show aired on the Nine Network. In the United Kingdom, the show aired on Channel 4 and was later moved to Bravo in 2003. When the show ended, reruns were aired on TBS and Comedy Central. Premise The series centers around Wes Shapiro, a sheltered man who travels to Hollywood after his controlling parents pass away. Having never seen anything resembling a movie or a TV show (let alone a TV set), he decides to learn more about it, only to get accidentally embroiled in a movie deal with the blacklisted director Allan Smith who wants Wes to make movies. Wes agrees to do it to get a better understanding of film, and in doing so, he learns of the dark side of Hollywood. Along with Allan, Wes is aided by his childish old best friend Joel, his cautious therapist Monte, his short-fused intern Wyatt, his unwanted #1 fangirl Chelle and her father, the cynical Leland. Wes also has to deal with his evil twin brother Les who wants nothing more than to maintain his status as Hollywood's most beloved director. Each episode centers on Wes creating movies, taking inspiration for what happens to him on certain days. Episodes typically start out comedic, but after the credits, a disturbing scene plays before the logos are shown. Before every episode is a disclaimer, which reads: "IF YOU ARE A PROLIFIC CELEBRITY OR ARE BASED WITHIN CALIFORNIA, YOU WILL POTENTIALLY DIE OF SHOCK UPON REALIZING HOW MUCH OF A HELLHOLE YOUR STATE IS. IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHETHER OR NOT YOU POSESS THE SAME TRAITS AS THE AFOREMENTIONED WALKING WASTE, GO BACK TO WATCHING TRASHY BARGAIN BIN FODDER AND STICK WITH YOUR BASIC CABLE NETWORKS." At least twice, they made fun of NBC in two episodes. "SUCH AS NBC, HOME OF THE SHORTEST LIVED CARTOON OF ALL TIME. NEVER HEARD OF IT? OF COURSE NOT." "LIKE NBC. HURRY NOW SO YOU COULD CATCH THAT HORROR-FEST EMERIL, BROUGHT TO YOU AFTER OUR BIGGEST TRAGEDY BY A WOMAN WHO SHOULD GO DESIGN HER SELF. HINT HINT." The opening sequence features Wes tampering with a projector, which plays a parody of a scene from a popular movie (usually done to mimic what the episode would be about) with characters from the show replacing those featured in the original. The scene ends with the film going off-center, and we cut to Wes putting the film into a tray. We zoom into a label Wes puts on the tray which reads the title of the episode. Characters Main * Wes T. Shapiro (Albert Brooks): A man who has spent a majority of his life at home, and hence feels out of sync with the rest of the world. His parents forbade him from watching television and forced him to study. Being completely naive to the world of cinema, he's often the subject of ridicule by movie buffs and due to a lack of contact with other individuals, he's somewhat shy and insecure. In spite of his shortcomings, Wes is able to make it in the world of film and has garnered some acclaim. Wes' name is a mix of the names of Howard West and George Shapiro, executive producers for Seinfeld. * Allan Smith (John Vernon): A disgruntled movie producer who hires Wes out of desperation. Allan was once well respected, but due to him getting tied to various flops, he was blackballed and is forced to work under an assumed name. While strict and at times unreasonable, Allan does have good intentions and he tries to help Wes in varying ways. Allan's name is a pun on Alan Smithee, a pseudonym created by directors who wish to disown films they're tied to. His appearance mirrors that of Christopher Collins. Supporting * Joel Denton (David Cross): Wes' estranged best friend. Joel used to sneak into Wes' house and the two frequently read comic books together. Joel is somewhat childish and he frequently watches cartoons when he's not hanging with Wes or the others. He often tries to help Wes with his movie, but his advice proves to be unethical most of the time. It's believed that Joel suffers from Werner Syndrome. * Monte Yuzna (Andy Dick): Wes' therapist who first appears near the end of season one and becomes a main character by season 2. Wes frequently visits Monte whenever he needs advice. He is very vulnerable, and his clients tend to take advantage of him, even Wes whenever he wants to avoid paying for his sessions. It was revealed in season 3 that Monte is a closeted homosexual and since then, he came out of his shell and married Wyatt due to him being the only accessible gay client signed to him. * Wyatt Powell (Gregory Hines): Wes' intern. He formerly served in the Gulf War before going through an honorable discharge (which he blamed on racial bias) and has been unable to get back into the working world because of it. Wyatt suffers from a mild form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and he also has major anger issues. He is considered to be the most violent part of Wes' personal circle of friends, but in spite of this, he has proven to be the most resourceful of them all whenever he's in the proper mood. Wyatt and Monte married one another later into the series (which was filed by Monte's homosexuality reminding him of one of the more positive experiences he had while in the army) * Chelle Polk (Maria Bamford): A 16 year old, socially inept girl who admires Wes. Her parents frequently forced her out of her home so she could make friends, which never worked. She admires Wes because his parents forced him to stay indoors and because of his unique perspective on film. Wes frequently turns her away, but it doesn't deter her devotion to him. It has been shown that her clinginess to Wes and the others may come from mental issues and trauma stemming from the deaths of her pets, and she may have inherited her father's sociopathic behavior at birth. Whenever she's alone, she's haunted by the pets who take the form of pawns from board games. She was once tormented by the ghost of her first pet, Diego, until she managed to exercise his spirit from her house, only to come back for revenge until he was defeated once more. * Leland Polk (Michael Richards): Chelle's father who's a TV collector and electronics salesman. He is eventually hired as a technical advisor in Wes' project after proving himself to Allan and the others. Leland is a cynical, nihilistic sociopath who'd sooner mock a suffering individual and perhaps further their suffering. He and Chelle hardly get along, although Leland believes that he's doing the right thing when it comes to raising his daughter. He frequently puts his daughter through activities that she doesn't enjoy and he kept her out of the house in an attempt to get her to make friends. Despite his attitude, he does care about his daughter's well-being, but he hardly tries to get input from her in order to become a better father in her eyes. He also cares deeply about his mother and would be devastated if either her or Chelle somehow died. Other Prominent Characters * Lenard Lochmond (Howard Morris): An actor who is cast in Wes' film. He makes prominent appearances after season 2 since Wes had enough material to begin hiring actors. Lenard was once a successful indie actor, but the wrong management led to him getting blacklisted, and it traumatized him so badly that for two years, all he could say was a quote from his breakout film. He regained his confidence after punching Jon Schroder (his co-actor who ruined his career). Lenard turns up anytime Wes is making his film, but other times he acts as a background character. * Josie Kern (Antionette Spolar): Chelle's best friend. Very little is known about her or why she became friends with Chelle. It has been claimed that Chelle was forced by her father to hang out with Josie. She usually appears in episodes centered on Chelle or where teens are usually involved. She's the polar opposite to Chelle in nearly every feasible way. Josie seems to act more like a personal assistant than a friend to Chelle, but the latter would shoot down those claims constantly. She seems to be quite strategic, as she often oversees deals Chelle arranges with people whom are older than her and is an effective aid in Chelle's schemes. * Prudence Tokan (Mo Collins): Allan's seldom seen secretary. Usually appears whenever she corrects Wes or anyone else in his circle on anything. She organizes events proposed by Allan and oversees important business meetings. She is best identified by her speech pattern where she says the name of the punctuation mark at the end of her sentences. This was brought about by a stroke she had a few years prior, which supposedly caused her to lose her job as a radio personality well before she met Allan. * Les Shapiro (Bob Odenkirk): Wes' brother and the main antagonist of the series. The polar opposite to Wes, he is brimming with confidence, has attended film school and has even met Steven Spielberg (eventually revealed to be a drifter who has the same name as the director). Having lived a successful and also sheltered life, Les is an egomaniacal individual who looks down upon anyone who isn't involved in Hollywood and he bullies his fellow workers, even his personal assistants on a frequent basis. His neurotic behavior likely stems from a traumatic experience he had after directing ten movies straight for what turned out to be a money-sink. He tends to lie to potential workers about most of his past to ensure they work with him. He does whatever he could to sabotage Wes' flourishing presence in Hollywood, but winds up giving him more popularity as a result. Les is usually killed or severely injured in most of his appearances, but somehow returns alive and well by the next episode. * John Schroder (Neil Flynn): A comedic actor who is considered to be the most hated actor in Hollywood and is the secondary antagonist of the series. This is due to his racial insensitivity, giant ego, making fun of dead celebrities and creating a series of ill-received movies. He first appears in (who is) The Actor, when Wes casts him in his movie with no prior knowledge of his infamy and had to go to great lengths to get him out of the project. He plays another major role in (what is) A Road Trip when he attempts to stop Wes and his friends from destroying the copies of a sequel to one of his movies. It has been implied that Schroder destroyed Allan Smith's career prior to the start of the series. He hasn't had any major roles since the two aforementioned episodes, though he did play a minor part in (what is) Baseball where it's hinted that Wyatt might've killed him after he made Chelle's team lose. Cancellation/Aftermath The show ended in early 2002 due to Strange and Emerson running out of ideas for new episodes. Both knew that the show would end due to low ratings had it continued from then. The show continued in reruns on the network until later in the year, by then the show became eligible for syndication and it left Comedy Central for good. Strange was beaten by Frank Novice in 2004 and had to retire until he fully recovered. Emerson produced TV movies for various networks (something that he had done since 1993) until late-2006 when his last project proved to be a money sink. Availability The rights to the show were bought out by Lily Laney and Frank Novice in a lawsuit that took place in 2007. The opening and closing credits were replace to remove all references to Strange and Emerson, and the logos at the end of each episode were deleted.